Prevalence of goiter and urinary iodine exertion in school-aged children in Lorestan province

Iodine deficiency and its related disorder such as goiter are endemic in Lorestan province. Following initiation of iodine deficiency control program in 1989, production, distribution and consumption of iodinated salt were begun. This survey was conducted in the framework of national monitoring survey in 2001 to find out the prevalence of goiter and urinary iodine level in order to evaluate the iodine status of school- aged children in Lorestan. 1200 schoolchildren, aged 7-10 years, were selected randomly from all regions of Lorestan. The grade of goiter in 600 boys and 600 girls, was determined according to WHO classification. Urinary iodine content was estimated using the digestion method in one tenth of the schoolchildren. Total goiter rate was 7.8% 7.8% in girls and 7.7% in boys. Median urinary iodine was 17 μg/dl. Urinary iodine was above 10 μg/dl in 85.7% and less than 5 μg/dl in 1.7%. No one had urinary iodine below 2 μg/dl. It is concluded that the rate of goiter in Lorestan has decreased significantly since 1996 and urinary iodine levels in schoolchildren are indicative of adequate iodine intake. Therefore Lorestan province can be considered as an 'iodine deficiency free' zone.